BARACK OBAMA ran for president four years ago promising not just to cure the economy and cut the deficit in half but also to tackle problems on a bipartisan basis. Four years later the economy is stagnant, the deficit has grown and he has racked up almost as much new debt as all previous 43 presidents combined. He also has proven to be one of the most polarizing presidents in U.S. history.

No wonder so many Americans are hoping for change come January.

***

BARACK OBAMA’S ELECTION was an inspirational moment for most Americans, one whose historic significance was impossible to deny. Yet he was quick to dash those hopes once in office.

During his first two years Obama had a Democratic-controlled House and Senate to pass any plan or idea to help the tattered economy. Instead, he made his overriding priority not job creation but the radical transformation of this country’s health care system, which though far from perfect is the best in the world for a country so large. That government takeover of health care, if left in place, will deprive millions of Americans of their present health insurance and degrade the quality of care provided for all of us. His preferred model is socialized medicine along the lines of Great Britain and other European countries.

That’s fitting, because his economic policies have this country following Greece and Spain toward bankruptcy.

This is a president who seems fundamentally out of touch with most mainstream Americans and sees Main Street America as something to be scolded. He routinely villanizes the private sector and pushes policies that punish profit. As he chided successful Americans this summer, “You didn’t build that!”

On foreign policy, he has treated our enemies like allies and our allies like enemies. Despite — or more likely because of — his serial apologies to foreign leaders, he has cost us respect around the world. His administration’s ludicrous assertion that an obscure YouTube video in California sparked anti-American riots across the Middle East on Sept. 11 has now been proven a deliberate falsehood. And when a U.S. ambassador was murdered in the line of duty for the first time in 33 years, Obama’s response was to jet to Las Vegas to party at a fat-cat fundraiser. The cruel murders of the ambassador and three other Americans that day? Just a couple of “bumps in the road,” he callously said.

Obama’s America is a place where unemployment rates above 8 percent are routine, where food stamp enrollment has hit an all-time high and where the number of Americans who have given up hope of finding work would have had a familiar ring to Franklin Roosevelt.

Barack Obama has had four years to offer a plan for saving Social Security and other entitlements. But that “plan” apparently consists of “Do nothing. Something will come along.”

Mitt Romney would slowly raise the retirement age, means-test wealthier Americans but not raise taxes or do anything to affect present seniors or those nearing retirement.

Barack Obama has compiled a wreck of a record, and yes, “He did build that.”

***

OBAMA’S OPPONENT on Nov. 6 is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. The economy is the overriding issue in this race. So which candidate is best prepared for the job? Barack Obama, who has next-to-nonexistent experience in the private sector, who has overseen four years of economic stagnation and who has learned nothing about the business world? Barack Obama, whose answer for every economic or budgetary question is “Higher taxes”?

Or Mitt Romney, who compiled an admirable record in the private sector and knows how and why jobs are created? That answer is obvious. Romney will push for lower tax rates, which will have the counter-intuitive result of increasing revenues and spur job creation. President Romney’s policies will lift the economy just as President Reagan’s did.

***

MOST PRESIDENTS running for re-election run on their records. Not this one. Why not? Because it is so unpopular with so many voters. Instead, Team Obama has mounted a relentlessly negative campaign. Forget “Hope and Change.” This time around it’s “Fear and Smear.”

Leadership? Obama’s forte is “leading from behind.” You can look around and see where that’s gotten us.

Romney’s resume, on the other hand, is dotted with leadership successes — at Bain Capital, overseeing the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, and his term as the Republican governor of one of our most Democratic states.

This is a country desperate for change. It’s a country badly in need of an economy that produces jobs, rather than spits people out of jobs. A country where the growth of the private sector outpaces that of government, rather than the other way around.

This is a country that needs a leader who leads, not a leader who follows. A leader who will enhance the things that make us the most dynamic country in the world — not one who pushes redistributionist policies designed to transform us into another socialist Europe.

We need a leader who believes in “peace through strength,” military and otherwise, not a leader whose guiding principle is “peace through weakness, and keep your fingers crossed.”

Much like the Bush/Cheney re-election campaign in 2004 - fear and smear. Fear of more terrorist attacks and changing administrations in the middle of a right-wing created war in Iraq. Then smear a Purple Heart awarded veteran while belittling all injured vets by handing out purple heart bandaids at the Republican convention.

John Kerry's purple hearts were for scratches. His unabashed pursual of those awards during his brief, four month "rich boy" tour of Vietnam is almost as disgusting as his eventual politicizing of them after he returned from "duty" and turned on his fellow servicemembers, calling them all murderers just so he could get enough limelight to gain favor with Democrat politicians.

As for "fear of terrorist attacks..." I'll trade you a good, strong vigilance for your head-in-the sand refusal to admit there's a problem any day. Our posture keeps America safe. Your posture, including all the bowing and apologizing, gets us incidents like Behghazi, where American ambassadors are sodomized and marched through the streets, bloody photos used to gin up the Muslim world....or the Ft. Hood disaster, prime example of Obama's refusal to call a terrorist a terrorist. His posture disallows the soldiers who were victimized that day to be eligible for that same purple heart you pretend to care about.

Just wow. You guys are so desperate you're bringing up the Kerry purple hearts! Love it.

Nocolor

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October 21, 2012

It is sad to say I an "American" we are going back to 50s and 60s when we as "White Americans" controlled how and when people voted, where they ate, sleep, live or anything that kep the races apart. President Obama has been disrespected by people more than any President in the history of the USA. Any time a man that is running for President allows his son to say he wants to take a swing at the President and no correction or apologize is given then we know we are headed back down the wrong road.

But we all sit in church every week say we love God but we hate our brothers we see everyday. The devil is a liar and all you "good Christians" who hate the President only because he is an intelligent, educated, Harvard graduated African-American man will not and cannot "break" him.

What in the world makes you think we're going back to the 50s and 60s? Are you aware that it was the Democrat party who kept the black minority down all those years, blocking legislation for the Civil Rights Act of 1964? Are you aware that Alabama Gov. George Wallace, who turned the dogs and hoses on people of color in Selma was a Democrat? Did you know Lincoln was a Republican, and as long ago as that, the Democrats were no friend of yours.

Of course not, you just believe what you are told by your pastors, never given any facts on policy, just vote Democrat to keep you on the Democrat plantation, and if you stray away from anything to learn any of these kinds of facts (which might just change your mind about which party will take you back)then you will be labeled an Uncle Tom.

As far as "breaking" this president: his policies have failed miserably, and the Congressional Black Caucus said so, until someone threatened them. His foreign policy is all a big lie, and you who will vote for him just because he's black...focussing on Mitt Romney's son for some really strange reason....are part of the problem. Educate yourself woman.

netta52

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October 18, 2012

Maybe you are one of the 1% that Lying Mitt Care for !!! What A nightmare evening thinking about MITT the Blinder for Pesident HECK NO !!! 2000 -2008 THIS NIGHTMAIRE ON EARTH STARTED NOW FOUR YEARS IS NOT ENOUGHT TO CLEAN UP THIS MESS FROM 2000-2008 MOVE FORWARD NOT BACKWARD VOTE OBAMA/BIDEN I AM !!!!

Moving forward means what? Just because you can remember Obama's dumb and communistic slogans doesn't mean you can understand what it is you are voting for. Or maybe you are just one of those people that doesn't vote based on the quality of one's character...but more so based on the color of his skin? Do you care that he's lied about the attacks in Libya? Do you care that he lied over and over during the last four years, played golf rather than attend important national security meetings? Of course four years aren't enough...not when you vacation in Hawaii three times a year and play golf every other day.

Vote Mitt Romney. He understands how to create jobs and make our country healthy again. He won't talk down to us the way Obama does; he won't try and placate us with fancy slogans. He's real, not some fake guy who can't speak unless he's got a fancy speechwriter and two teleprompters.

@netta52

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October 22, 2012

I'm anonymous, and no, I'm a single mother with four children. You don't have to SCREAM in writing to get your points across if you are thinking for yourself. If you are simply repeating the slogans, you must SCREAM online.

Please, vote for whomever you please, but start reading instead of simply listening to your preacher or your union boss. Read both sides and then think about what you've read. You might just be smart enough under there to form some opinions of your own, to get beyond your stupid stereotypes and beyond your racial bias. Good luck with all that.

CobbCoGuy

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October 16, 2012

Interesting stuff just out about Obama's leadership (or lack thereof), reaching across the aisle, and all that.

No less than Howard Fineman (Huffington Post) recently stated the following as one of several possible reasons to be given by Democrats if Obama loses the election:

“Obama's aloof (some would say condescending) attitude toward Democrats in Congress is legendary, though not in a way that is helping him now. Many, if not most, leading members of his party in Congress have never had a serious, lengthy conversation with him. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have been lectured to more than wooed.”

Also, former Obama aide Neera Tanden recently stated,

“...Obama doesn’t call anyone, and he’s not close to almost anyone. It’s stunning that he’s in politics, because he really doesn’t like people.”

I believe he doesn't like people because his mother sent him away, basically abandoned him at at young age (because she was so anti-American, pro-communist and anti-capitalist she was afraid the step father, Soetoro, was teaching him that corporations were all right). I believe Obama is so full of anger that he cannot govern as an adult, but uses threats and intimidation...when he's not just walking away from a problem or letting others handle one. Character does count, as MLK said, more than the color of one's skin or the percent of white or black genes.

Timus

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October 15, 2012

Are you kidding me? That guys stands for nothing!! He won't even support HIS OWN decisions!! How is that leadership??

Mitt's ruthless slash and burn experience is that of firing everyone, bringing in his own people, then dismantling everything possible, cutting costs way beyond reasonable, all to trick whatever new investor group will fall for his "look at our EBIDTA" line and buy the pig in the poke.

What will he do with a Congress he can't just fire? And what will he do with departments such as social security and medicare and the mortgage interest deduction when he can't simply wish them away all on his own?

If we were electing a dictator, Mitt's style would be perfect (note his propensity for military), but we are instead electing someone to lead and work with others.. Others whom he cannot just fire!!!

Mitt's a pig. Don't poke his name on that voting computer screen gadget!

@VFP42: I have been attempting to explain to some Romney supporters that private sector experience does not translate well to the oval office. I have failed to make the point most of the time. Congress is under no obligation to do as the president wants. The current congress especially the House of Representatives is proof positive of that point.

CobbCoGuy

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October 15, 2012

Bain Capital.

:)

Staples: only had one store when Bain invested; now employs 90,000.

Steel Dynamics: “…one of the largest domestic steel producers and metals recyclers in the United States…”, according to Yahoo Finance.

Dominos: Dominos delivers!

Bright Horizons: a childcare company. “In 2011, First Lady Michelle Obama praised Bright Horizons and its role in society…” according to Yahoo Finance.

Sports Authority: employs 14,000. Sports Authority and the National Sports Center for the Disabled raised more than $400,000 at the 11th Annual Sports Authority Hal O’Leary Golf Classic. Proceeds will benefit children and adults with disabilities.

Stage Stores: a Bain investment that went into bankruptcy, but recovered! Bankruptcy is not a death warrant. Companies can survive bankruptcies and often emerge stronger.

DDi Corporation: builds circuit boards and employs almost 2,000. DDi also went through bankruptcy reorganization. They are still in business.

So, VFP42, do you have anything of substance other than adolescent insults?

VFP42

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October 15, 2012

Well CobbCoGuy, I never said Romney's slash and burns didn't turn out well for the stock holders. Of course some of them did. What I did say is that Romney does what he wants, as dictator he would be great. However, he will have to work with people he can't replace. How many of his big corporate turnarounds were pulled off with the original employees (ie Congress) ?????? My point is Mitt is accustomed to replacing everyone with his people. He will have his cabinet full of his advisors, but all they can do is whisper in his ear. What will Romney do with a Republican Congress that doesn't fear for their jobs if they displease him? He did okay with the Democrats in Mass... but this is very different!!!

For me, i will take the Libertarian. Nothing productive will happen in the next four years no matter who wins, so my vote will send a message to the two parties that are the heads and tails of our worthless quarters.

Samuel Adams

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October 16, 2012

Your anger is apparent in every post I've read, VFP42.

I suspect you're a Ron Paul supporter who just can't get over the fact that your guy was just too weird for America (and so were his minions).

You talk about a dictator...I suppose you think Obama is better. Your questions about Social Security mean nothing. Your explanation of his past business experience is naive. And your penchant for dissing the military shows your Ron Paul bent. Nice. See you at the next hemp fest.

Samuel Adams

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October 16, 2012

Check Lib in Cobb reaching out to the angry libertarian, VFP42. If you could only organize those libertarians, Lib, you would be a....community organizer!!!

Good luck with that. You'll need some black helicopters, a couple drones and a copy of the U.S. Constitution, which I'm sure you won't be able to locate since you are a Democrat.

CobbCoGuy

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October 16, 2012

VFP42

I'd say some Bain investments turned out well for...stockholders...employees...their vendors...suppliers...the benefactors of charitable donations...pension funds holding such investments...retirees whose pensions funds held or are holding such investments...you get the idea.

Of course Romney will bring his own people into the Cabinet positions...just like Obama did...just like Bush did...just like Clinton did...you get the idea.

With due respect, if you vote Libertarian, you will not be sending a signal to anyone. You're vote will be wasted. I like a lot of Libertarian thought myself, but this election cycle, they are not a player.

Ho can you possibly characterize Mitt the way you do, when his staffers speak the world of him? You have NO idea what you're talking about, but exist on this blog purely to vent your anger without offering up one iota of factual, pragmatic conversation. And your vile hatred of our military has shown through in every post. You sir, are the pig. Go drink a latte and quit while you're ahead.

Lib in Cobb

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October 15, 2012

Romney has only four years of elected office. The perceived lack of elected office experience of President Obama was a significant issue for many Republicans during the 2008 campaign. At the time of the election President Obama had nearly double the elected office experience compared to the current elected office experience of Mittens, but that's ok.

During the 08 camapaign the GOP used each and every issue to keep Barack Obama from holding the office. Including: Lack of experience, he is a known terrorist, he is not a citizen, he is a Muslim, he has close friennds who are terrorists, he is a Communist, he is a Socialist, he was not educated at Columbia or Harvard.Currently the latest controversy is that President Obama's mother was a porn actress at one time.

The lack of experience is no longer an issue with the GOP. The experience of being governor is rarely discussed. Please keep in mind that Romney is hiding millions and millions of dollars in off shore tax free accounts, but that's ok.

Romney is a man who has flipped flopped on issues like abortion so many times we have lost count, but that's ok. Why does he not take a stand on this very important social issue?

No need to regurgitate the elected office experiences of Obama and Romney; everyone is familiar with the subject. What needs to be pointed out is that Romney's experience was EXECUTIVE - he had to made decisions.

Obama's experience in the IL State Senate and U.S. Senate required him to be "present."

Ok, he's been the "CEO" of the U.S. for almost 4 years. The trouble is that he is in love with the IDEA of being President. He really doesn't want to deal with the difficulties of actually leading.

Case in point - Lybia. Immediately after the attack, conflicting reports were coming in from the State Dept. and the intelligence community. What does The One do? He jets off to Las Vegas for a fundraiser.

Samuel Adams

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October 16, 2012

We never had a problem with Sarah Palin, so that just shoots your argument to hell, doesn't it?

Romney worked in a bi partisan way as governor to get things done. He did not say, "They bring a knife, we bring a gun" the way this president did.

Obama doesn't work with the Congress, he just goes around them, illegally in many cases.

You shouldn't mis-characterize the GOP's arguments. No one said Obama is a terrorist, unless they meant he's driven up the deficit more than all the presidents who came before him put together. He IS a socialist and Marxist, and his policies and stats prove that. And nobody said he wasn't educated at his schools, they just question why, if he was so great, won't he reveal his school records??? What's he so afraid of?

We do question his attacks on small businesses, big businesses, any businesses, his love of more and more big government, his desire to control our lives by controlling our healthcare and his embracing of the Cloward-Piven theory and Alinsky in general. We abhor his chummy association with various sheiks in the Middle East, various Muslim and Black Panther Party activists in America, the racist, anti-Semitic Louis Farrahkan, the terrorist bomber William Ayers, the controversial black separatist Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the card-carrying communist who was his mentor, the Marxist professors he's on record as admiring, his dissing our allies, Great Britain and Israel, his bowing to Saudi princes and other world leaders....I could go on but you get the picture.

Who cares if Romney flip flops on abortion? When the man in the White House voted to allow a doctor to come in and murder a baby if it actually survived an abortion, even us pro-choice GOPers are disgusted. It's the economy, the deficit and the highest unemployment statistics since the Great Depression that you should be concerned about. Abortion and your fake war on women are not a factor in this election. This election is about saving our economy and saving the millions of families who are in crisis because of Obama's policies.

Wham-O would B proud

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October 14, 2012

Yes, this country definitely needs the "etch-a-sketch" candidate to run our affairs. The way Mitt Romney has run his presidential campaign: tacking wrecklessly to the fringe right during the party nomination process and then performing an almost unimaginably amnesiatic jib across to the center for the general election...only the Lord above will be able to surmise the way he'll actually govern...although again, given what appears to be a poll-driven and compassless internal constitution to his make-up, I suspect a Romney administration may end up being diagnosed with multiple personality disorder.

Let's also not forget this same editorial board was a repeat offender with both of their endorsements of the GW Bush administration....an administration which only brought pain, suffering, and embarrassment to our once great nation.

Oh right, bring back the etch-a-sketch. You people have nothing left to use.

When you need to hide your abysmal record, continue attacking the other guy.

jrog

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October 17, 2012

@ Wham-O

I agree with you. I do not trust MR. He is out of touch with everyone except the 2% and apparently listens to any voice talking inside his at any given time. He will say anything to get elected.

Tom Hanks

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October 18, 2012

Etch a sketch, Big Bird and now something about a binder with women's resumes...you guys are amazingly vaccuous for a party who claims they can fix our country IF ONLY we give you another four years a few more trillion dollars of our hard-earned money to spread around to your failing green companies....

Hey, I know, maybe the guy running the country is really a kid who made a wish at an amusement park and is just PRETENDING to run the country....that would explain everything. Yeah, let's all run out and vote for him again.

chalmers

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October 14, 2012

So I guess this means the Tribune is endorsinbg Mr. Romney. Shame on you!

During the first debate, Mitt Romney's theme was consistent and simple: States' Rights. He defined the election as a battle between States Rights and Big Federal Government. That plays well for him in the individual Swing States. And he means it. As a Mormon, Romney idolizes States' Rights. To gain an existential understanding of the cult that produced Mitt Romney, and to get your socks scared off, read The Assassination of Spiro Agnew, available in paperback and e-book at:

Its unwilling, part-Mexican Mormon assassin dramatizes the Mormon superiority complex, manifesting it as racism, sexism, jingoism and an anti-federal government temperament. His research in the new library reveals ominous similarities between Islam and Mormonism. The spiritual power behind the cult, which is not the Holy Ghost, acts out.

“With a clarity of language and vision unsurpassed in contemporary American prose, Steven Janiszewski's Assassination of Spiro Agnew takes us into a U.S. mazed with madness and Mormonism and all things Utah, a U.S. that was then and still is. Readers, welcome to a masterpiece.”

Yeah, and the Mormons now control the Olympics too. Jeez man, you've lost a gasket.

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